Sherborn Selectmen mulls warrant for Special Town Meeting

Wednesday

Aug 17, 2016 at 12:01 AM

On Aug. 10, the selectmen set Aug. 31 and Sept. 8 as the respective dates for opening and closing the warrant. The closing date of Sept. 8 gives the Advisory Committee approximately three weeks to hold hearings, according to Selectman Charlie Yon.

By Sarah Freedman, dover-sherborn@wickedlocal.com

The Sherborn Board of Selectmen has voted for a date of Oct. 24 for the Fall Special Town Meeting, and the next step was to decide on the calendar and the list of potential warrant articles.

On Aug. 10, the selectmen set Aug. 31 and Sept. 8 as the respective dates for opening and closing the warrant. The closing date of Sept. 8 gives the Advisory Committee approximately three weeks to hold hearings, according to Selectman Charlie Yon.

Board of Health

On the current list of articles were two for the Board of Health.

The first one was for the expansion of the board from three to five members. There was a consensus to leave the article drafted by the selectmen in place, although there could possibly be a citizens’ petition for it.

The second article would change the board from elected to appointed.

Vice Chairman Paul DeRensis believed it would be more effective coming from the citizens, and Chairman Michael Giaimo noted that keeping the article would be a way “to clear the air and try to get some resolution to the whole issue.”

As the Board of Health members are already elected, Giaimo said, “We ought to have two articles on here. One would increase the members from three to five … and the other would say change elected to appointed.

Should “one, both or neither pass,” he added that they would know what the town wanted.

Giaimo said, “This way the town does get to decide.”

Selectman Sean Killeen understood DeRensis’ point, but said the article would be out there as an option for the town and not as something the selectmen were endorsing.

Selectman Mark Brandon had “mixed thoughts” on the articles, but supported their placement on the warrant. Yon agreed with Brandon to “have it as a placeholder and have a debate.”

There was also a third article option of combining into one article the expansion of the Board of Health and the conversion from elected to appointed, an option which was left on the list.

The creation of a Board of Health director via a bylaw was on the warrant list as well.

Town Administrator David Williams said they were going out to hire for a part-time health agent, so he recommended having an in-house director. He noted that he has spoken about it in Personnel Board meetings, but did not have the official support of the Board of Health.

It was left in for discussion, as noted by Giaimo.

Other possible articles

The working list of warrant articles also includes authorization of the selectmen to approve safety zones and an amendment to the bylaw to require a third-party review of fire and sprinkler plans, which would be paid for by the applicant.

Speaking to the safety zone article, Williams said if the Traffic Safety Committee recommended an area in question, the selectmen could authorize a safety zone.

In regard to the third-party review, DeRensis said he believed it should entail the authorization to do so, but not the requirement as it could “become a huge burden on everybody.”

Killeen supported the article, but disagreed on whether a bylaw was needed. He asked why it could not be incorporated in the fee schedule.

DeRensis replied that under current statutes it may be a required step to set up the review.

Capital items

There were also two capital items on the list for the Police Department HVAC system and Town Hall generator.

Giaimo believed that the Advisory Committee might be open to having capital expenditures on the warrant and there would be funding for said expenditures.

He said, “My understanding is that Advisory thinks there will be some money, but on the other hand, it’s not an emergency or something that can’t really wait until Annual (Town Meeting).”

Without endorsing their inclusion on the Fall Special Town Meeting warrant, he suggested leaving the items on the list.

The board moved the article pertaining to changes to the Land Acquisition Committee from the Fall Town Meeting list to the Annual Town Meeting list.

Hiring process

The selectmen also discussed the hiring processes for a full-time fire chief and town accountant/finance director.

Williams reported that Killeen and Yon, Police Chief Richard Thompson, Personnel Board member Nick Anastasopoulos and acting Fire Chief Neil McPherson are slated to be included on the selection committee.

DeRensis said a separate transition team would be a good idea to “assist in the transition” into the job so they could identify any problems and fix them.

He said the concept would be to have the involvement of seasoned fire officers “inside and outside of the department” for a set period of time.

Giaimo said, “That’s just consistent with what we heard when we asked people for their input … the last time. There was a gap between what we thought was happening.”

DeRensis described it as a team who would help the new chief transition into the job. He believed it would be safer for Sherborn and noted a period of five to six months could work.

He added, “It would be better for the community, better for the department.”

Williams suggested that the selection committee could identify members for a transition team, and DeRensis supported this.

Williams recommended following a similar process to hire a finance director. He gave the names of several potential members of the selection committee, like Fred Abdelahad, chairman of the Personnel Board.

Members of the finance department in Sherborn such as Town Collector Nancy Hess would also be a part of the selection process.

Town Treasurer Heather Peck said as she and the Town Accountant work “the closest together,” she had a vested interest in the process.

She said, “I would be happy to take part.”

Brandon, who was also a potential candidate for the committee, said it would be a good idea to involve the Town Treasurer.

Giaimo said the Advisory Committee would also designate a member.

In other business

— Yon reported on Beals and Thomas, the 40B consulting firm being considered for hire that has consulted for Milford and Concord. He called it “an extremely good fit” for Sherborn.

Of meeting with them, he said, “I was very impressed.”

Williams added that “they were great to deal with.”

The board supported having Williams send a letter to the firm.

In a related discussion, DeRensis raised the issue of better educating the general public about Title V and 40B developments, and Giaimo noted the well-attended informational session last year with Town Counsel Barbara St. Andre.

— Peck spoke about extending the useful life of capital items from the 2015 and 2016 Annual Town Meetings to provide information to bond counsel. Part of the information gathering process is to vote on the useful life of capital purchases approved at town meeting.

The items in question were Pine Hill School HVAC equipment and infrastructure items for $198,250, an ambulance for $305,850, an international dump truck for $190,000 and a frontend loader for $148,000.

The selectmen voted for a maximum useful life of 15 years, a span that Peck said was not a final number, but rather a flexible guideline.

She said she had the ability to pay down short-term debt every year for the balance of the assets.

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